NEOONA AND FOLOE

By the time Gagansahu came out of the woods and into the town, he found lots on people of streets dispersed in groups and in a little bit of commotion. As he walked more and more into the kingdom, he felt as if the entire kingdom is on the streets. The mini food vendors on the streets though are making a good business out of this. Gagansahu felt hungry. So he walked up to a fruit vendor and stood infront of him. A customer was talking to the vendor.

"So, does that mean Neoon is not safe anymore?" asked the customer

"Mmm..looks like it..if the queen was alive, atleast then we could have slept peacefully. Now with all that happened with her and her husband, I doubt it is safe to even live here anymore." The vendor replied thoughtfully.

"All these big people and their politics. Seriously how far would they go before they sell out even themselves? I mean look at the king. For him to do such a thing itself shows how much the queen has affected him." The customer remarked

"Hey now old man! No one should talk about the queen this way! Sister Neoona is nothing but an angel. She was wrongfully accused and murdered. The king loves her too. Infact I even doubt if he really killed himself" both the vendor and the customer were shocked by these words as they turned aside, they found a teenager looking angrily at them with both of his hands on his hip.

"Zean! That's no way to talk to elders!" the vendor shouted at his 14 year old son.

"Aha! And that's the most celebrated way to talk about the dead I presume!" he sarcastically replied

"Zean!" the vendor got angrier

"Now! Now! Leave it. He is a little boy. Besides we know how much he likes that Princess Neoona. No wonder he acts like this" the customer intervened.

The vendor calmed down and pitied his son who looked as if he is about to break down into tears. He went near to him and said "I am sorry Zean! I know how much she took care of you and how much you like her. But humans can be complex. You never know everything about a person. But am sure, princess Neoon is a good person. Now you go home and take rest alright?" The teen nodded and said " but before I go, I will say this. Princess Neoona would never hurt the King or this kingdom. Not even in her dreams. I knew her. When this entire kingdom wronged me, she was the one who gave me the benefit of doubt and stood with me until I was proved not guilty. Even after that she helped our family through a lot of troubles. We are here today because of that. A person that kind and that good would never sell out her own kingdom. Its now my turn to repay her. And now the entire kingdom is against her. But she has me on her side. And I will not rest until her name is cleared and justice is done to her."

"Zean! Enough! You don't know what you are talking about! Don't go budging your nose in rich peoples business. We are afterall but street vendors. Don't you forget that and ruin us. Now go home and take rest." The vendor raised his voice again to which the teen teared up and ran.

Gagansahu who was listening to all of this was wondering who this princess Neoona that the young boy was so eager to stood up for. Seeing gagan deep in thought the vendor said "Am sorry sir, I have kept you waiting for so long."

"No no ..its fine. Umm..Can I have one of each of these fruits please?" he asked innocently to which the vendor and the previous customer looked at each other and giggled a little bit.

"Am sorry sir! But we don't sell that way. But I can give you a kg worth of all of these fruits together. Might that be ok with you sir?" the vendor asked politely

"Oh! Yeah! Sure! That would be great thank you!" Gagan replied shamefully

"You seem to not shop very often sir" the vendor commented smiling at gagan.

"That is true. I really don't!" Gagan replied shyly.

"Is there anything else you want sir?" the vendor asked politely

"No thank you. But am new here. So, can you tell me what this commotion is all about?" Gagan asked

"Oh! Sure sir. The last couple of days have been rough on our kingdom. But last night was the final blow. Our beloved king Foloe, killed himself." The vendor replied

"Oh! Oh my god! Why? What happened?" gagan asked

"Actually, a couple of days ago while the king was away, the queen was caught revealing our security secrets to an enemy king via letters. They said the letters got more personal as they go. She was tried and found guilty. Finally after imprisioning for over a week, couple a days ago the poor princess Neoona was beaten to death as a punishment on that court altar just in the middle of the village." The customer lamented.

"Oh! That's very unfortunate. So, the woman who was punished two days ago was princess Neoona? And she was the queen too?" gagan asked thoughtfully

"yes! Actually according to lineage, princess Neoona was the queen. She was betrothed to the only son of the kings bestfriend when they were little. The young man himself was very much in love with the princess. Everything was good until one day the king fell sick and died. Immediately princess Neoona then 12 was made the queen. And sensing the dangers around her, she requested the only person she could rely on , the now king and her good old best friend Foloe to guide her through this. Even though Foloe was just a couple of years older than the princess and a teenager himself, he showed extraordinary talents in combat and planning. And with his help, princess Neoona ruled this kingdom for all these years. Finally a cpuple of years ago, they got married to honour the late kings word." The vendor replied.

"Yes! But somepeople say, the princess was not as much in love with the king as he was with her. They say she married him just for the sake of her father and that he is but a best friend to her." The customer added.

"I have heard that too..but what ever the case is, they looked quiet happy these couple of years and they weren't seen a minute apart until recently when the king had to go on some important tour. But look what happened in these couple of weeks. Even Chend, the queens most trusted man also, did nothing to stop the conviction. Instead he himself held the ceremony. They say rich people should not trust their own shadow" the vendor lamented.

Gagansahu after hearing all of this felt pity for the woman who died in his hands. He now know what her story was and wished things didn't go down for her like they did. He thanked the vendor and the customer for telling him the story so patiently and went on his way.

"This has been one hell of an experience. A lot of things happened in my life the last two days. And for me to learn about this kingdoms story after I have left everything in my life is surely damning. It just somehow left a bad taste in my mouth. I think I will now headback to my place. Somehow I feel like its important I stay there than to wander like this. To even think of how people are gonna react when I go! Ah! I hope they don't laugh at me!" he said to himself and marched back home.